Baltimore Debuts Virtual Lab: High school facility blends 3-D virtualization with traditional research skills

Having opened its doors August 31, the first virtual learning room in Baltimore County, MD, is having educators blend 21st-century skill sets with old-fashioned research in a project-based environment. While the lab is certainly state of the art—complete with 3-D visualization—students will still need to know the basics of research, much of it conducted in the school’s library, and under the guidance of its media specialist.

Although Chesapeake’s new lab is considered the first of its kind, according to Lowry, the push for virtual learning in schools is not. Computer-based programming and distance learning classes are playing a larger role in education—and the need for a school to draw on the Web 2.0 expertise of a school librarian only continues to grow.

“Virtual learning offers a perfect tie-in with the library,” says Linda Braun, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. “School librarians will be the people who can make the connections between the 2-D and 3-D world.”

Yet, while some schools like Chesapeake High are excited to propel their students into the next realm of learning, not all librarians work in that kind of supported environment, notes Braun. Many principals and district officials discourage librarians from upgrading to digital materials, creating challenges for media specialists who want to bring more technologically advanced tools into their schools. “Baltimore has taken the leap to break that barrier,” she says. “But I come across school librarians every day who can’t because they’re blocked.”

But a growing emphasis on building science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills in students, is opening up funding, as school administrators heed the call of national leaders in business and government, who are concerned that the next generation of workers won’t have the necessary skills for a global economy.

“We ask students if any of them have a cell phone and all their hands go up,” says Lowry. “Then we ask them if they have one that was made in the U.S., and no one raises their hand.”

That’s one reason that defense labs Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin partnered with the University of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, and gaming companies to build the new lab at Chesapeake. Students will be able to video conference with engineers at the firms to discuss lab results or spend their lunch hour in mentoring sessions.

Student enrollment has already increased at the school, and Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston plans to add several more labs, albeit smaller versions, in additional county schools, as funding allows. “It’s just a matter of demand,” says Hairston. “We had students hanging around before school started, anxious to get into the lab. And on the first day, everyone was ready to go.”